


It's Not In The Programming

by wolfwars



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: F/F, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-06
Updated: 2015-01-06
Packaged: 2018-03-06 09:41:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3129929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfwars/pseuds/wolfwars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Never start a fight you can't finish. Short root/shaw fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Not In The Programming

**A/N:** sorry about the quick beginning! But I went right into the prompt! Hope you guys enjoy. ~~~ side note, it's also not in an specific bout of time between 9x09 or 9x10, just a response I could imagine Shaw having if one day Root says a little too much or jokes about them dating.

 

 

"There’s at least a hundred reasons we couldn’t," she seemed uncomfortable even saying the word, leaving a long drawn out pause as she forced the words out of her mouth- "Date."

"Well," Root answered tiredly, "Isn’t it convenient that you have the time to tell me some of them?" She gestured around to the empty space of the team's subway hideout, showing her own inner boredom at the room and maybe even at the discussion a little.

"First off, _I don’t want to._ Second off,  _I’m not programmed like that_. Third, it’s unprofessional and Finch and Reese wouldn’t like it.”

"Who says they’d have to know?" Root smiled up at her, innocently.

"They would know just like I’d know. Fourth, we’re probably all going to die soon anyway- I mean, that’s what you guys keep saying. This is war." _  
_

"Actually, Shaw, that’s a vote for yes. If we’re all going to die soon then why not have a little fun before we go?" She leaned in and whispered it like they were both in on some secret joke, even letting her hand scrape slowly on Shaw’s arm. Shaw didn’t flinch but she did roll her eyes and continue.

"Yeah but how do you think we’d do the whole thing that romantic idiots do and then— let’s say… I get hurt on the field. Would you be able to help the mission and maybe even leave me? Or would you maybe even panic and compromise whatever you’re doing… or let’s say you’re in trouble and suddenly I’m compromised."

Root’s answering silence was answer enough. Shaw tilted her head to the side, face pointing out how much of a mistake it would be. Though, the more Root thought about it, the more she wondered if it wasn't already too late. If she wasn't already  _compromised_. She's not sure she'd handle it very well if Shaw was hurt or captured by Samaritan. 

"There’s also the fact that I don’t date, I only stay with someone for three nights and then Boom!  _Over_. There’s your relationship with the machine which seems to be way more than just the relationship between me and my iphone… but don’t worry I really don’t want to know the details on that one.”

"Don’t you, Shaw?" She grinned but her mind was a little occupied with the barrage of "I can’t"s being thrown at her. She felt her own inner voice assembling arguments like  _but, you don’t know_ and  _but it’d be fun…_  but she kept them to herself. Let Shaw rant. Tire herself out.

"And I don’t like to share." Shaw added quickly.

"Share what?"

"Share the woman I’m supposedly seeing with an all knowing-supercomputer with ai intelligence… you’re clearly head-over-heels for the thing…"

“ _She_.”

"Exactly." Shaw pointed out towards her but it only made Root groan annoyed and then shake her head.

"I’m sure you could think of a million reasons why nothing would ever work out for you if you actually chose to let someone care about you. I’m sure you always have." Root bit out.

"Yeah… that’s on the list too," Shaw agreed, "But only way, way down the list like after things more important like sexual orientation, my personality disorder, your personality disorders, my attraction to danger and violence—  _who says I wouldn’t get bored_ , Root?”

"Maybe I like those things about you," She let her eyes roam down from the woman’s face to her arms and she pushed closer, "And you’ve seen my life. I’m way more likely to be bored with you than you are with me." She let her hands carefully touch one of Shaw’s loose strands of hair, winding it around her fingers. She stared into the woman’s eyes.  _It’d be nice if you could at least lower your guard for a day_ , she thought sullenly to herself.

Shaw let out a small frown but didn’t pout or move.

"And lastly, because who ever said I was into ‘tall, dark and crazy?’" she joked, her lip curling up into a wicked smile. She looked into the woman’s eyes, dark but teasing.

Root groaned again, annoyed but didn’t move her fingers or her body. She only looked more closely… as she always did. Whether it was computer code, fake covers or the most stubborn ex-ISA agent she’d ever met in her life.

"Maybe you know all that, but here’s some things you don’t know," Root’s voice lowered, angry, "I already know all those things about you. Because like I’ve said before, there’s people out there who care for you and do you know who one of those people are? My friend, my ‘lover’, my ‘sister’, my ‘mother’— the machine." 

She twisted the strands of hair in her hand with more force, Shaw’s eyes widened barely an inch but Root noticed. (She always notices).

"And she’s told me  _lots of_ things. She’s always been watching you, Sameen. She was there the day you were reborn, from the ruins of a car. She was there the day you entered medical school, in the walls of the room where they told you to leave because they had it drilled into you that you cared too little about other people to do your job and to  _save people_ , there when you were recruited by the ISA, there when you aimed your gun at the relevant targets the machine assigned to you… there when you lost Cole. There when you saved Gen. There when we met, there when you ‘died’. The machine found your number and gave it to Finch and Reese but there’s millions of numbers, millions of people and trained agents she could have found, yet… she picked you.  _Just like she picked me_. She knew you were going to blossom under Finch’s mentorship. She knew you’d stop killing so recklessly and that you’d do this job damned well because despite what the doctor in that office told you, you’re really good at saving lives. I knew from the start about your work with the ISA— I knew even more after she contacted me. Way more than some file dictating that you had an axis II personality disorder that you diagnosed yourself… written by some bored ISA lackey in his office. I know you have a million reasons why you shouldn’t have to feel connected  _to me_ , that’s fine but she’s already looked at you— looked at your past and because she is what she is, she already knows your future. She always has. And you’re capable of caring and being cared about far more than you let on.” When she finished speaking she heard the voice in her ear, recalibrating data, adding new factors and statistics to her asset profile on Shaw. Talking about the increased heart rate and breathing levels, dilated eyes and other indications of fear coming off of her.

Shaw stared, face forming into anger.

"You can go fuck yourself, Root." Shaw stood up and left the room, pissed.

Maybe not the response she wanted but definitely the response she should have seen coming.

**Author's Note:**

> (Root finds out that a hannibal lecture isn't always the best tactic to get someone to listen to you haha).


End file.
